Collating method

ABSTRACT

The method of forming a book, magazine, newspaper or the like from at least first and second signatures comprises the steps of printing the first signatures and delivering the first signatures from the printing press in an overlapped shingled stream. Segments of that shingled stream are placed on a support and are releasably clamped in a stable condition on the support. The support with the signatures clamped thereon is transported and stored remote from the printing press. The signatures are then removed from storage while clamped on the support. The signatures are then unclamped and unloaded from the support and the signatures are fed in a shingled stream to a first hopper of a collating machine. The second signatures are printed and the second signatures are fed toward a second hopper of the collating machine while the first signatures are delivered to the first hopper of the collating machine, and the first and second signatures are then collated in the machine by operation thereof. Preferably, the signatures, when they are stored, are stored in a shingled relationship on the support and all folded edges of the signatures lie in one plane on the support.

[ Dec. 9, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT The method of forming a book, magazine, newspaper or the like from at least first and second signatures comprises the steps of printing the first signatures and delivering the first signatures from the printing press in an overlapped shingled stream. Segments of that shingled stream are placed on a support and are re leasably clamped in a stable condition on the support. The support with the signatures clamped thereon is transported and stored remote from the printing press.

COLLATING METHOD [75] Inventors: James C. Wise; Victoriano Fernandez-Rana, both of Easton, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Harris-Intertype Corporation,

Cleveland, Ohio Dec. 10, 1973 Appl. No.: 423,056

United States Patent Wise et al.

[22] Filed:

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Sheet 1 0f 3 US Patent Dec. 9, 1975 US. Patent Dec. 9, 1975 Sheet 2 01 3 3,924,845

US. Patent v1).9, 1975 Sheet30f3 3,924,845

m GE

COLLATING METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved system for the production of books, newspapers, magazines, or the like. Previously in the production of books, newspapers, magazines or the like, those portions of the book, newspaper, or magazine which are first printed, such as a portion of a newspaper not having current news, may be printed well prior to the time of distribution of the newspaper. These preprinted portions are stored until the current materials are printed and are then collated with the more recently printed material in a suitable collating machine. The common procedure for handling of such materials is that the preprinted materials are stacked in a vertical stack and stored until it is desired to use that stack in a collating machine to be collated with the freshly printed signatures. Both are then advanced to a collating station and collated thereat.

The present invention is directed to a simplification of that known process and to a minimization of the amount of handling required of the signatures in that process.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention is directed to a simplified method of handling signatures for purposes of collating signatures to form a newspaper, magazine, book or the like.

In accordance with the present invention, signatures are printed and those signatures are positioned and releasably clamped in a stable condition on a support. Once the signatures are positioned and releasably clamped on the support, the signatures are transported and stored remote from the printing press. When it is desirable to assemble the book, newspaper, magazine or the like, the stored signatures are removed from storage, unclamped from, the support, and then fed toward a hopper of a collating machine. Other signatures are printed in a printing press and those signatures are fed toward a second hopper in the collating machine while the first signatures are fed toward the first hopper. The signatures are placed in the hoppers in the collating machine and collated together to form the book, magazine or the like by operation of the collating machine.

In particular, the signatures as they are delivered from the printing press move in a shingled stream with the folded edges of the shingled stream leading. The signatures are stored in a manner so that the folded edges of the signatures lie in the same plane and are un loaded from the support on which they are stored in a manner in which the folded edges of the signatures again lead.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Further features of the present invention will be ap parent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a schematic view ofa system embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a further schematic view illustrating various steps in the handling of 'the signatures in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a pallet loaded with signatures for storage;

FIG. 4 is a view of a signature support used in the system of the present invention: and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an unloader used in the system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As noted hereinabove, the present invention relates to the handling of signatures, and particularly the collating of signatures to form a magazine, newspaper of the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the signatures are printed in a conventional printing press having a conventional folder associated therewith and which combination is designated 10 in FIG. 1. The signatures are fed from the output of the printing press-folder combination in a folded shingled stream, designated 11. The specifics of the printing press-folder combination will not be described in detail, since they do not form part of the present invention. The signatures are advanced along a conveyor with the folded edges leading. The signatures may be advanced through a suitable signature gating device in the nature of a conventional feeding switch 15. The signatures as they are advanced from the gating device 15 are moved by a conveyor mechanism 13 (shown schematically) to a loading device, generally designated 16. The loading device 16 is a device as disclosed in US. Patent application Ser. No. 358,124, filed May 7, 1973, in the name of Fernandez-Rana et a1, now US. Pat. No. 3,842,7l9 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The specific structure of that device is disclosed in the aforementioned application and such disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.

The signatures are formed by the loading device 16 into a shingled relationship on a support 20 (FIG. 2). The signatures are formed into a dense shingled array on the support 20, which dense shingled array is designated 21 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The signatures are fed to the loading device 16 in a loose shingled stream 19. Once the signatures are formed into the dense shingled array on the support 20, the support is moved from the loading device 16 via a conveyor system 25 into a storage system, generally designated 26. Dense s'hingled array means that a substantially greater number of signatures per linear unit of measurement are, provided as compared to a loose shingled stream. "The storage system 26 may be of any conventional construction and as illustrated comprises a series of racks and a stacker crane 27 which is capable of receiving the signatures in their stored condition, and placing them in the racks. The crane 27 is also capable of removing the signatures while on their supports from the racks.

Thesignatures and the supports 20 on which the signatures are supported may be positionedI-in movable frames or modules in which the signatures are clamped, such movable frames being disclosed in-"application Ser. No. 302,848, filed Nov. 1, 1973, now U.S.Pat.No. 3,840,130 in the name of James Wise et a1, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, and which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the signatures at the loading station 16 and while on the supports 20 may be placed on pallets 29, as shown in FIG. 4, and conveyed on the pallets 29 to the storage area 26 where the entire pallet 29 with plural arrays of signatures 21 on supports 20 may be stored in a rack area.

The supports on which the signatures are supported may comprise a variety of different constructions, but as disclosed herein comprise a horizontally extending support base 30 having an angled support portion 32 at one end thereof against which the signatures rest when in their dense shingled array on the support. The folded edges of the signatures, of course, are located in a single plane A (FIG. 2) and the open edges of the signatures lie on and rest on the support surface 33 of the support base 30.

The support 20 also includes a clamp mechanism 34 at the end thereof opposite the end on which the angled support 32 is located. The clamp mechanism comprises a pivotal clamp member 35 which may pivot from a storage position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 4, to a wide open position, as shown in dash lines in FIG. 4-, for receipt of signatures on the support and which may then be moved into the clamping position, shown in FIG. 3, where it clamps the signatures against the support surface of the member 32 at the opposite ends of the support 20.

The signature array 21 placed on the pallet 29 is maintained in a clamped condition between the support 32 and the clamp 34. This maintains the signatures in a very stable condition due to the clamping action of the clamp 34 on the signatures and yet with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in a common plane. The stacks of signatures while in this condition are directed by conveyor system to the storage area 26 where they are stored.

When it is desired to utilize the signatures which are in storage, those signatures are removed from storage while still in their clamped stored position on the support 20 which are on pallets 29. The signatures are removed from storage on a suitable conveyor system 38 and are maintained in the shingled, clamped stable condition during such removal.

Once the signatures are removed by the conveyor system 38, theyare directed to an unstacking device or unloading device, generally designated 51 in FIG. 1. The unloading device may be as shown in copending application Ser. No. 342,739 now US. Pat. No. 3,881,718 and that disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. In general, the unloading device 51 effects an unclamping of the signatures by releasing the clamp mechanism 34 by a cam, not shown, engageable therewith as the support lowers, and feeding the signatures off the support 20 and in a shingled stream 58 (schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) so that the. signatures are advanced toward a collating machine 60 with the folded edges of the signatures leading by conveyor belts 56, 57.

The unstacker 51 is generally shown in FIG. 5 and comprises two elevator mechanisms, generally designated 52 and 53. The elevator mechanisms support the tray or support 20 and lower the support 20 between a pair of comveyor belts 54, 55 which strip the array of signatures from the support 20. The conveyor belts 54, 55 move in a direction to the right of FIG. 5 to move the signature array which is now supported thereon toward a pair of conveyor belts 56, 57. The conveyor belts 56, 57 have inlet end portions 56a, 5721 which are inclined and which feed the signatures in a loose shingled stream from the dense shingled array on the support. Suitable motors, not shown, are utilized for driving the conveyor belts and also for driving the elevator mechanisms.

The conveyor belts 56, 57 deliver the signatures directly into a hopper 62 of a collating machine 60. The hopper 62 has associated with it a sensor switch 59 which senses the height of the pile of signatures in the hopper 62 and which controls the operation of the conveyor belts 56, 57 as Well as the conveyor belts 54, 55 in accordance with the supply of signatures in the hopper. In other words, if the supply of signatures in the hopper 62 reaches a low point where the switch 59 senses the absence of signatures in the hopper, then the conveyor belts 54-57 will be energized in order to feed additional signatures into the hopper 62. Of course, associated with the hopper 62 is a conventional mechanism 58a for removing signatures therefrom and which mechanism forms a part of the collating machine 60. The mechanism 58a for removing the signatures is shown schematically in FIG. 5 as merely a drum mechanism, it being understood that suction devices and signature opening devices may be utilized in the collator to effect the feeding of signatures from the hopper 62, which will not be described, since such is conventional.

The collating machine 60 has a plurality of hoppers 62 which receive the signatures. The collating machine may take a variety of forms and is schematically shown as a conventional newspaper stuffer, such as disclosed in Mitchell US. Pat. No. 2,796,255. In view of the known construction thereof, it will not be described in detail. In general, the machine includes a plurality of pockets which move in a circular path past the various hoppers 62 from which the signatures are deposited into the pockets and thus collated. The delivery of a complete newspaper from the pockets is by a bottom drop therefrom.

The signatures which have been stored in the area 26 may be collated in the collator with other signatures which also have been stored and delivered directly to a hopper 62 of the collating machine 60, as disclosed in FIG. 5. Alternatively, certain signatures may be delivered to hoppers 62 manually. Also the signatures that have been stored may be combined in the collating machine 60 with signatures which are freshly printed and in this connection the output of the printing press may be delivered directly to a hopper 62 of the collating machine 60. In this connection, the gate or switch 15 would be moved to a position where the output of the press-folder combination 10 is directed onto a conveyor system 65 rather than toward the loader 16. In this case, the freshly printed material bypasses the storage 26 and also bypasses the loader 16 and is fed directly toward the collating machine 60. These freshly printed newspaper sections may be automatically fed directly into a selected hopper 62 of the collating machine 60 as disclosed in Bryson application Ser. No. 227,184, filed Feb. 17, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,88 l ,716 or may be manually loaded into the hoppers 62. The disclosure of the Bryson application Ser. No. 227,184 is incorporated herein by reference.

In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that applicant has provided a substantially improved method for handling signatures. In the method signatures are conveyed in a loosely shingled stream from the printing pressfolder combination 10 to a loader device 16 where the loosely shingled stream is formed into a densely shingled array 21 on a support 20 and releasably clamped on that support with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in the same plane A. The signatures are then conveyed and stored while in the stable clamped condition. When required for collating, the signatures are re moved from storage and released from the support and conveyed to the collator 60. They are conveyed to the collator 60 in a loosely shingled stream 58 after unclamping of the signatures from the support.

Having described the invention, 1 claim:

1. A method of forming assemblages from at least first and second signatures, said method comprising the steps of printing the first signatures and delivering the first signatures from a printing press in an overlapped shingled stream, placing segments of said shingled stream on a support, releasably clamping the first signatures in a stable overlapped-shingled relationship on said support, transporting and storing remote from the printing press the first signatures while clamped on the support, removing the first signatures from storage while clamped on the support, unclamping and unload ing the first signatures from the support, feeding said first signatures in a shingled stream toward a first hopper of a collating machine, printing second signatures, feeding the second signatures toward a second hopper of the collating machine while the first signatures are fed toward the first hopper of the collating machine, and collating said first and second signatures by operating the collating machine.

2. A method of forming assemblages from first and second signatures as defined in claim 1 wherein the signatures are delivered from the printing press in a loosely shingled relationship, and further including the step of arranging the signatures on said support in a densely shingled relationship with the signatures extending at an angle to a support surface of the support and with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in substantially the same horizontal plane.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein said signatures are fed in a loose shingled strem to the collating machine with the folded edges leading whereby the signatures are temporarily transformed from a loose shin- 6 gled stream to a dense shingled stream and are subsequently returned to a loose shingled stream.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 further including the steps of feeding the first signatures directly into a hopper to provide a supply thereat, sensing the supply of first signatures in the hopper, and controlling the feeding of said first signatures in accordance therewith.

5. A method of forming assemblages from first and second signatures as defined in claim 4 wherein the signatures are delivered from the printing press in a loosely shingled relationship, and further including the step of arranging the signatures on said support in a densely shingled relationship with the signatures extending at an angle to a support surface of the support and with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in substantially the same horizontal plane.

6. A method of forming assemblages from at least first and second signatures, said method comprising the steps of delivering the first signatures in an overlapped shingled stream, spacing segments of said shingled stream on a support, releaseably clamping the first signatures in a stable overlapped-shingled relationship on said support, transporting and storing the first signatures while clamped on the support, removing the first signatures from storage while clamped on the support, unclamping and unloading the first signatures from the support, feeding said first signatures in a shingled stream into a first hopper of a collating machine by a continuous conveyor, sensing the supply of signatures in the first hopper by engaging the top of the pile in the hopper with a pile height sensor, controlling operation of the continuous conveyor from the sensor, feeding the second signatures toward a second hopper of the collating machine while the first signatures are fed into the first hopper of the collating machine, and collating said first and second signatures by operating the collating machine. 

1. A method of forming assemblages from at least first and second signatures, said method comprising the steps of printing the first signatures and delivering the first signatures from a printing press in an overlapped shingled stream, placing segments of said shingled stream on a support, releasably clamping the first signatures in a stabLe overlapped-shingled relationship on said support, transporting and storing remote from the printing press the first signatures while clamped on the support, removing the first signatures from storage while clamped on the support, unclamping and unloading the first signatures from the support, feeding said first signatures in a shingled stream toward a first hopper of a collating machine, printing second signatures, feeding the second signatures toward a second hopper of the collating machine while the first signatures are fed toward the first hopper of the collating machine, and collating said first and second signatures by operating the collating machine.
 2. A method of forming assemblages from first and second signatures as defined in claim 1 wherein the signatures are delivered from the printing press in a loosely shingled relationship, and further including the step of arranging the signatures on said support in a densely shingled relationship with the signatures extending at an angle to a support surface of the support and with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in substantially the same horizontal plane.
 3. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein said signatures are fed in a loose shingled strem to the collating machine with the folded edges leading whereby the signatures are temporarily transformed from a loose shingled stream to a dense shingled stream and are subsequently returned to a loose shingled stream.
 4. A method as defined in claim 1 further including the steps of feeding the first signatures directly into a hopper to provide a supply thereat, sensing the supply of first signatures in the hopper, and controlling the feeding of said first signatures in accordance therewith.
 5. A method of forming assemblages from first and second signatures as defined in claim 4 wherein the signatures are delivered from the printing press in a loosely shingled relationship, and further including the step of arranging the signatures on said support in a densely shingled relationship with the signatures extending at an angle to a support surface of the support and with all of the folded edges of the signatures lying in substantially the same horizontal plane.
 6. A method of forming assemblages from at least first and second signatures, said method comprising the steps of delivering the first signatures in an overlapped shingled stream, spacing segments of said shingled stream on a support, releaseably clamping the first signatures in a stable overlapped-shingled relationship on said support, transporting and storing the first signatures while clamped on the support, removing the first signatures from storage while clamped on the support, unclamping and unloading the first signatures from the support, feeding said first signatures in a shingled stream into a first hopper of a collating machine by a continuous conveyor, sensing the supply of signatures in the first hopper by engaging the top of the pile in the hopper with a pile height sensor, controlling operation of the continuous conveyor from the sensor, feeding the second signatures toward a second hopper of the collating machine while the first signatures are fed into the first hopper of the collating machine, and collating said first and second signatures by operating the collating machine. 